Hydraulic tube expanders are used by plumbers, HVAC technicians, and others to expand a section of tube or pipe, such as an end of the tube or pipe. Traditional tube expanders are difficult to operate within tight spaces. When expanding an end of a copper tube, for example, end-users may use multiple styles of tools to expand the end of the tube. As such, a compact and simple to use hydraulic tube expander would be advantageous.
Some hydraulic expanders are linear shaped but do not provide sufficient compactness to allow for use within tight spaces. An example of a linear tool is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,099, entitled “Hydraulically powered flaring hand tool,” issued on Sep. 16, 2003. One disadvantage of this configuration is that it requires use of two hands to fully operate the tube expander. In the case of engaging the expander with a tube or pipe, a nob must be turned to operate the expansion element of the expander. In addition, in the case of release and/or disengagement after expansion, the nob must be turned in a counter direction to release the pressure and retract/disengage the expansion elements. As such, the nob is operating in both directions, and requires two hands to operate.